''Mélo'' is a 1986 French romantic drama film directed by

Alain Resnais Alain Resnais (; 3 June 19221 March 2014) was a French film director and screenwriter whose career extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included ...

and starring

Fanny Ardant Fanny Marguerite Judith Ardant (born 22 March 1949) is a French actress and film director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two César Awards and a Lumières Award. Early life Ardant was born in Saumur, Maine-et-Loire, Fr ...

André Dussollier André Dussollier (born 17 February 1946) is a French actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as f ...

Sabine Azéma Sabine Azéma (born 20 September 1949) is a French stage and film actress and director. Born in Paris, she graduated from the Paris Conservatory of Dramatic Arts. Career Her film career began in 1975. Azéma appeared in '' A Sunday in the ...

and

Pierre Arditi Pierre Arditi (born 1 December 1944) is a French actor. He is the brother of French actress Catherine Arditi. Life and career Born in Paris, his father was the painter Georges Arditi, from Marseille of Jewish descent, and his mother Yvonne L ...

based on the 1929 play by

Henri Bernstein Henri-Léon-Gustave-Charles Bernstein (20 June 1876 – 27 November 1953) was a French playwright associated with Boulevard theatre. Biography Bernstein was born in Paris. His earliest plays, including ''La Rafale'' (1905), ''Le Voleur'' (1907), ...

Plot

Pierre Belcroix and Marcel Blanc are

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

ists and lifelong friends living in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in the 1920s. While Marcel has become famous and Pierre has not, both are happy with their lives. Pierre is happily married to Romaine, a stylish young

flapper Flappers were a subculture of young Western women in the 1920s who wore short skirts (knee height was considered short during that period), bobbed their hair, listened to jazz, and flaunted their disdain for what was then considered acceptab ...

. However, Marcel meets and falls in love with her, which Pierre little suspects. Romaine carries on her affair with Marcel, even as Pierre falls ill, which she may have deliberately exacerbated with her treatment in order to

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

him. Soon Marcel goes on a concert tour, and Romaine abandons Pierre for a romantic tryst. When Marcel returns, Romaine reconsiders the affair, and realizes that she loves both Pierre and Marcel. She decides that she does not want to hurt either her husband or her lover, and as no other solution seems possible, she commits

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Three years later, Pierre visits Marcel to seek the truth, and Marcel tells him that no illicit affair occurred, thereby honoring her memory.

Cast

as Romaine Belcroix *

as Christiane Levesque *

as Pierre Belcroix *

as Marcel Blanc *

Jacques Dacqmine Jacques Dacqmine (1923–2010) was a French stage, film and television actor.Hayward p.242 He was married four times, including to the actress Odile Versois. Partial filmography * ''Premier rendez-vous'' (1941) - Un élève du collège (uncredi ...

as Dr. Remy *

Hubert Gignoux Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and ''beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubertus or Hubert (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers. ...

as Le Prêtre *

Catherine Arditi Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Chris ...

as Yvonne

Reception

Vincent Canby of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote that ''Mélo'', "though it appears to be limpid, is as maddening as ''Marienbad.'' It's not obscure, but it's difficult to understand what it is about the project that so fascinates this most sophisticated and intellectual of French film makers." Describing the film, he wrote, "Though the camera moves in for close-ups from time to time, the sets and lighting are intentionally artificial. A curtain falls between acts, and scenes are played in extended, fluid, unbroken takes that evoke the theatrical experience. Unfortunately, the film's opening scene sets such a high standard that nothing that follows can come up to it." Scott Foundas of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that Resnais' films involve "seeing just how far he can ostensibly push an audience away by exposing his artistic scaffolding ... all the while stealthily drawing us closer in. And beginning with 'Melo' in 1986, this ongoing experiment has increasingly drawn on explicitly theatrical aesthetic devices to at once push and pull at the audience’s attentions." The film was presented at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

on June 21, 2014, with the write-up stating that "Resnais’ symmetrical compositions and extended long takes emphasize the artificiality of the proceedings while liberating their emotional truth."

Accolades

The film won the

César Award for Best Actress The César Award for Best Actress (french: César de la meilleure actrice, link=no) is one of the César Awards, presented annually by the ''Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma'' to recognize the outstanding performance in a leading role ...

and Best Supporting Actor, and was nominated for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mélo 1986 films 1986 romantic drama films Films featuring a Best Actress César Award-winning performance Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor César Award-winning performance Films directed by Alain Resnais Films produced by Marin Karmitz Films set in the 1920s Films set in Paris French films based on plays French romantic drama films 1980s French-language films Flappers 1980s French films